Following a fifteen-year drive to introduce a syllabus within a post graduate masters programme for Arts in Social Contexts, ten people were elected from a variety of arts related backgrounds to undertake the first one year course starting at the RSAMD in Glasgow in September 2007.

With the exception of one student, from a government agency, who elected to execute the course on a part time basis, the remainder comprised experience essentially in performance including two professional theatre actors. There was one other exception, someone from the voluntary sector - the author of this evaluation.

Introduction

This evaluation is about the interpretation of the distinguishable benefits and understanding of personal learning, involvement and contribution to the 'process' of artistic performance. It is also an observation of the power of communication derived from facilitated aesthetic preparation and performance and how it can be used in a social context.

At this point it is reasonable to lay before you my philosophical standpoint as background, which, in part, importantly informs the intellectual basis of thinking behind this evaluation.

In relation to this evaluation on New Forms I believed right at the start, that it was necessary to adopt the maxim: cogito ergo sum - 'I think, therefore I am' - Descartes, R. (1596-1650). This is important as the visual basis for understanding how ones efforts will be regarded in the future both in performance terms and from an 'audiences' perspective, whether 'integrated' (Spect-actor - see later) or otherwise. To set this background further in context, 'Russell, B. (1912) The Problems of Philosophy Oxford University Press, explains in his eminent argument of 'the table' as a response to Appearance and Reality, that…'
I know that, if I move, the parts that reflect the light will be different, so that the apparent distribution of colours on (the table) will change.

And so, importantly, he goes on to say…
It follows that if several people are looking at (the table) at the same moment, no two of them will see exactly the same distribution of colours, because no two can see it from exactly the same point of view, and any change in the point of view makes some change in the way the light is reflected. (Fourteenth impression 1988 p 2).

This is about our very existence and our position on Earth at anyone time in relation to others. It is that very understanding of existence that allows us to communicate. For me this is an important starting point because it illustrates the need for understanding the 'senses' a performer (communicator) requires when engaging an audience - without whom, the activity of visual communication, in my opinion, is meaningless. Furthermore, I want my evaluation to recognise the importance of a contemporary statement relevant in a 21st century social context, wheretofore, 'Needlands & Goode (2007) - Playing in the Margins of Meaning state…'
Art-making is an essential life process that feeds and draws on our human need to make sense of, and give account of, human existence. It is not a decorative pastime. It is not the commodity which is traded in the professional theatres, galleries and boutiques of the bourgeoisie. It is not an escape from reality, but a return to it. P2.

I take the view that this statement underpins the very effectiveness of contemporary artform and its clarity provides the essential stimulus necessary in the communication process for arts in a social context.

Assignment
In the first part of the programme, a two-week period of intensive practical study, the Course was presented with an assignment, which interestingly, was to be facilitated and not directed. This raised for me a need to quickly assimilate a new look at aesthetic judgement in relation to the requisite tasking for artistic performance and where it might be necessary to separate out the distinction between subjective and objective rationale. And so in pursuit of that aim, i.e., to satisfy, if possible, the question of what constituted aesthetic judgment, I studied a lecture from the Decimus Society in which Gordon Thomas, University of Sheffield (year unknown) web reference: includes in his opening remarks…
…aesthetic judgments can be placed into one of two camps: they are either subjective - decided on personal feeling alone or they are objective - referable to an outside authority; normative: either right or wrong.

Having said that, he then concludes…
…we should not jump to the other extreme and insist that there is some ultimate, metaphysical Right or Wrong: aesthetic judgments are not entirely objective. These two points constitute the Antinomy of Taste - our responses to art are neither wholly subjective nor wholly objective. We must find a way of reconciling the two.

In my own mind I was conscious of the developing need to view matters from a subjective position. I was particularly keen to ensure that I recorded my experience of this process looking at the exercise from the position of a problem solving communicator, searching for the means to accurately articulate a point or message through arts practition; more importantly, how this could be applied in the community in a social context setting.

Purpose
In practical terms, I deduced that the principle of this module was to 'react to a felt disturbance' and to do so by interacting collaboratively, in an 'inter-disciplinary' manner. The word inter-disciplinary is important and I refer to its evolution here in a paper Steinheider, B. et al: (Year Unknown) Realizing a Digital Media Installation: Problems and Synergetic Effects of an Interdisciplinary Collaboration - Internet Web Reference: which states:
Interdisciplinary teamwork is becoming increasingly common in a wide range of areas such as industrial and knowledge development fields. New technologies and organizational concepts are required for product development due to growing competitive pressure, the increase in product complexity and the decrease in product life cycles. In order to reduce developing time, interdisciplinary teams of experts with different backgrounds work together using rapid prototyping…et seq: These teams consist of experts with different qualifications and backgrounds who collaborate temporarily on a common project. Bringing together expert knowledge of different domains in these teams is associated with synergetic effects: the integration of the different approaches, methods and strategies should overcome the 'gaps' between the different perspectives and approaches and enhance the creative potentials of the team members (Denton, 1997; Schunn, Crowley & Okada, 1998).

This is clearly highly relevant in communities today that have need to address issues, and so, having engaged some highly effective procedures in arts performance practition we were then given unto a 'disturbance' on the evening of the third day. The 'disturbance' as presented, was a brief summary of the Upper Clyde Shipyard 'Work-In' which took place in 1971 - this was essentially a Government action to create divisions within the Scottish Shipbuilding Industry in order to pave the way for the 'export of capital' - in short, exploiting other nations for cheap labour, with little regard for the catastrophic social consequences to communities on the River Clyde.

Aim
The intention, apart from providing the means to secure our Learning Outcomes in this evaluation, was to present the consequence of our jointly facilitated activity surrounding the 'Work-In' at a performance, before the public, by the end of the module, some seven days later.

Process
Leading up to the 'disturbance' we looked at movement, sound and meaning. This was well presented and it was possible to reflect easily on the effectiveness of these three key elements. For example, (whilst recognising within the limits imposed in this evaluation which do not allow for every activity to be recorded), notably we were able to break down movement into:
direct / indirect
slow / fast
light / heavy

This served as an effective prompt for performance techniques, when we were subsequently invited, to physically create, decide, attempt and perform examples of these movements. This provided an invaluable example of how effective careful consideration in the selection of movement can emphasise part of the overall communication process.

It is important to recognise here as I mentioned in my introduction that what we were experiencing was that through the process of facilitation we were 'acting out' the process of the 'Spect-actor'. To put some theoretical context behind this, Paterson, D. (1995) Theatre of Oppressed Workshops - Internet Web Reference: contributes about the Brazilian Dr. Augusto Boal as follows:
Boal developed a process whereby audience members could stop a performance and suggest different actions for the character experiencing oppression, and the actor playing that character would then carry out the audience suggestions…et seq: He began inviting audience members with suggestions for change onto the stage to demonstrate their ideas. In so doing, he discovered that through this participation the audience members became empowered not only to imagine change but to actually practice that change, reflect collectively on the suggestion, and thereby become empowered to generate social action.

Taking this to a practical stage further, and recognising the importance of sound, movement and meaning, I noted three other key elements that assist 'process', these are:
presence,
time and
space.
All these elements must work in harmony. Practically speaking, process is down to people and so where presence is concerned, this is a human resource issue and put simply, it is important to ensure you make every effort to draw out and recognise the specific talents of individuals and use the right people in the right way.

Where time is concerned, it is important to consider the condensing of time - it is vital to be careful, for the use of time contributes greatly to the effectiveness of the end product. As far a space is concerned, plainly - make the most of what you have.

Interdisciplinary Group Work
This part of the process in my view was akin to a power-house of creative industry, in which we had all been engaged by a 'factory' to assume the role of every employee from floor sweeper to chairman of the board - forgetting not least the psychology needed as human resource manager. It was immediately clear that I was amongst considerable talent and whilst there were initially mixed reactions about the subject matter of the 'disturbance' (personally I wasn't phased), I was impressed how those 'dissenters' quickly turned round and applied themselves. For me to help in the necessary creativity I adopted and offered a combination of three key characteristics, which were humility, contribution and restraint. The process of facilitation produced a not unpleasant atmosphere similar to waves gently breaking on a sandy shore, swirling around and receding before returning. It was an absolutely fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Was I effective ? Well I certainly contributed and whilst not all my ideas were adopted (nor would that have been appropriate), I recognised that we had to collectively work towards an amalgam of ideas, if we were to achieve an aesthetic 'end product'.

Performance - The End Product
I believe the end product was a polished performance that was both well executed and well received by the audience; which included a musical impresario who announced there was sufficient material to make our performance into an opera. There have been subsequent requests for the group to repeat the performance. One of the 'interrogated' Shop Stewards brought his entire family, including his grandchildren and thought the play 'did justice' to the 1971 Work-In.

Personally, in aesthetic terms, I believe the play may have been weighted in 'movement', which in 'meaning' terms contrasted somewhat with the grittiness of the subject - for example, there was one dance scene which whilst beautifully performed on the one hand, was too long conceivably in the nature of the play.

As a post-mortem, this was in my view, down to the brevity of time to establish an end product and the selection of a 'sound' resource, in this case a piece of music, which was in itself of long duration.

Critical Reflection
Experiencing the process of interdisciplinary creation for a time bound aesthetic end product, through facilitation as opposed to direction, was unquestionably a positive one.

I believe the process of facilitation brought out an edge to creativity that would have been lost had the process been directed.

I enjoyed my involvement but had to constantly ask myself whether or not I was being too overpowering either from being the eldest member or from uncontrolled enthusiasm.

On balance I believe I quickly found a common ground, which allowed for sensible contribution and learnt how effective professional facilitation can be when developing a creative end product. When taken against learning outcomes I saw too how this could be deployed in any communication activity.

If there was one area I would like to introduce as part of the facilitated process, it would be to install 'hold periods' where facilitation could be turned momentarily into direction, as a measure to ensure that continual operational reflection could occur. I believe this would be vital if you were handling a group whose interest in creating an end product was not great.

Conclusion
In essence and this is the point of emphasis, the experience of developing an aesthetic process was thoroughly enriching.

As far as the end product was concerned as Bertholt Brecht is quoted: “He believes that the audience should be made not to feel, but to think.” Based on the audience's reaction to our 'end product' we can safely deduce we achieved our aim.

For me I now have a practical understanding that an arts based process is the purpose for practice in sound communication. There is the 'transmission' on the one hand, through an end product, which in activity terms could involve a musician, artist or actor, and on the other hand, there is the 'receiving' end, which is, simply, the spectator.